We (the staff) believe the players are the ones that make
the team. The players are the ones that
make their high school squads. The players
are the ones that are recruited for college programs. Every step of the way, the player is what
moves the bus. Our club is one made of
players.
On the boys side, we are creating a program that emphasizes
being CREATIVE, CONFIDENT, COMMITTED, and COHESIVE athletes. It begins in our Youth Development Academy
(YDA). Director, Scott Wheeler, spends
countless hours giving the athletes ball touches and emphasizing individual
technique. The YDA allows the players to
take opponents on with the dribble, no matter where on the field. We do not tell them to kick the ball out of
bounds or smack it up the field just so the other team won’t score. The YDA encourages players to keep the ball
and pass or dribble from the back to the attack to develop confidence and
creativity. Because young players lack
strength and technique, there will be several mistakes. Many times this may result in an opportunity
for the opponent to score. However, they
are learning what is necessary to be successful at the Regional and National
level when they are older.
I have written several blogs on what we expect in training
and ways to stay focused and improve. Every
training session we work on technique, tactics, and giving players ideas on how
to create opportunities. Aside from
techniques and tactics, the staff pushes their athletes to play ‘outside their
comfort zone.’ We want players who are
COMMITTED to improvement. I know, easily
said…but what does this mean?
We want ruthless competitors. We want, and need, our players to see the
competitive situation in a positive light and as a challenge versus looking at
competition as a negative and seeing it as a threat. When presented with a challenge, our players will try to solve the problem. A challenge is a puzzle, a maze, a video game...it is a problem that must be solved in order to win. Players need to be excited about tackling challenges and enthusiastic about finding answers, no matter how long it may take.
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CHALLENGE is moving, THREAT is static.
·
CHALLENGE is alert, THREAT is flat footed.
·
CHALLENGE is fast, THREAT is slow.
·
CHALLENGE is head up and checking shoulders,
THREAT is tunnel vision.
We want our players to be in the CHALLENGE STATE as often as
possible. So we put them in demanding
situations that are uncomfortable during training. We make the space small, limit touches, play
them numbers down. We often give them
timed runs that are extremely difficult.
We try to see when players switch form a CHALLENGE STATE to a THREAT STATE
and get them to switch back immediately.
For me, this is MENTAL TOUGHNESS.
We understand that staying in a CHALLENGE STATE is
difficult. Here are a few ways to help
you stay focused and in a CHALLENGE STATE.
1.
BAM – Body, Action, Move
- Body – keep body language positive at all times
- Action – constantly look for an action to execute
- Move – stay on the move as much as possible
2.
STRIKE A POSE – stand in Power Poses (like
Superman with hands on hip)
- Research shows that holding a Power Pose increases testosterone levels and decreases the stress hormone, cortisol.
- Power poses increase the appetite for taking risks.
3.
“Your physiology changes your psychology as much
as your psychology changes your physiology.”
Master behaviors and mastery of goals will follow.
